KABALE –The Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Elsie Attafuah, has urged higher-level academic institutions in the country to prioritize programs aimed at addressing current global challenges and facilitating positive transformations.
Attafuah shared her insights while addressing administrators and student leaders at Kabale University during a courtesy visit. UNDP had previously supported the South Western Uganda-based University with an initial grant of $60,000. Later, an additional $200,000 was provided to establish a regional business incubation hub.
Attafuah emphasized that universities have a crucial role in fostering innovations that can contribute to a more favorable world transformation.
“We need to make innovations shrive. Let’s stop exporting our wealth and importing poverty. For instance there should be Kabale chips exported all over the world; because we are known for growing them. We should add value to our potatoes and that goes for all our agricultural products”.Attafuah said.
With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) being a global struggle, she called upon academic institutions to design strategies that encourage creativity and yield solutions for a better world.
She also encouraged young individuals to engage in initiatives that would enable them to harness the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area, driving economic growth and development.
CUE IN ATTAFUAH….ON INNOVATIONS…..ENG//
Prof. Joy Kwesiga, the Vice-chancellor of Kabale University, expressed gratitude to UNDP for choosing the university as a beneficiary of its intervention in the country. She highlighted that the Innovation Hub would be instrumental in assisting more Ugandans in developing ideas that can positively impact their communities.
CUE IN PROF. JOY KWESIGA….ON THE SUPPORT…..RR/ENG//
Associate Prof. Phelix Businge, the Team Leader of the Regional Innovation Hub, echoed the importance of the incubation and innovation hub in nurturing cutting-edge solutions. He outlined the hub’s objectives, which include providing a platform for innovative ideas and creating markets for resulting products.
Drake Owoyesigyire Dias the Student Guild President also emphasized that the concept of innovation should be expanded to other institutions to have a more widespread and impactful effect.
Upon its full establishment, the Business Incubation Center will provide students and community member’s access to workspaces, mentorship, education, and potential investors to support their innovative efforts. The Center aims to assist innovators and start-ups in acquiring intellectual property rights and commercializing their innovations across the region.
